Heritage Days Planned

As with many festivities, Heritage Days, a two-day celebration held at the Intercourse Community Park, skipped 2020 and held a somewhat abbreviated event in 2021. For 2022, Heritage Days organizers are pulling out the stops by bringing back traditional activities and mixing them with new ones.

"A lot of it's similar, but there are a few new things," said organizer Mike Sensenig. "We get great sponsorship from the businesses, so almost everything can be free."

This year's Heritage Days celebration will be held in the park, 3730 Old Philadelphia Pike, Gordonville, on Friday, June 17, and Saturday, June 18. On June 17, activities will begin at 5 p.m., and on June 18, the Intercourse Fire Company pancake and sausage breakfast will kick off the day at 6:30 a.m.

One first-time activity that Sensenig pointed out is free axe throwing, which will be held on June 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. and June 18 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. "That's a new thing that's kind of cool," said Sensenig, who also noted that the mechanical bull ride, which was new in 2021, will return on June 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Other events of note on June 17 include the spelling bee for children at 6:30 p.m. and the Intercourse Heritage Trivia Contest for cash and prizes at 7:30 p.m. "There will be some pretty good prizes for that, and it will be interesting to see what people know," said Sensenig. The traditional Heritage display will be set up inside the pavilion. "This year, we added a board from a collection of old photos from students at the one-room schoolhouses," said Sensenig, who said the photos are dated from 1898 to the 1940s. "A lot of them have the names of the kids, so you can look up a family member by number," explained Sensenig, who noted that area residents may be interested in finding photos of grandparents or great-grandparents. "It's pretty cool," he said. According to Sensenig, the photos were gathered for a one-room schoolhouse reunion held in the 1980s and provided for Heritage Days by Elmer Zimmerman.

On June 18, activities will include the traditional volleyball tournament from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Teams may sign up at https://lancastertournaments.com/upcoming-events. The Factory Ministries will oversee a cornhole tournament beginning at 10 a.m. Those wishing to participate may register at http://www.thefactoryministries.com by clicking on the "Registration" tab.

Special activities for children will begin at noon on June 18 with the candy drop from a helicopter. At 12:30 p.m., Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary will present a program, followed at 1:15 p.m. by the DKers, a local juggling team, and Ryan & Friends at 2 p.m.

The Churchmen will return for a concert on June 18 at 6:30 p.m. The concert will be followed by a fireworks display.

"It's a great chance to get the community together," said Sensenig.

Readers who would like to learn more may visit http://www.intercourseheritagedays.com. Those with specific questions, may call 717-768-8585.